Dave Ramsey’s The Money Answer Book: A Book Review

(Above you will see the progression of my attitude toward the book I am holding and am currently reviewing now.  It’s okay if you laugh.  In fact, please do.)

Let me tell you what I know about Dave Ramsey.

His face is plastered on a huge billboard I drive by at least weekly.  He’s grinning on the sign but I always feel as if he is shouting at me and judging me and that he somehow knows the amount of money I waste on Tostitos.

My friend Nate Rector thinks Dave Ramsey’s pretty great and even loaned us a gargantuan set of Dave Ramsey cds for our listening pleasure.  I don’t know where those cds are and I never listened to any of them.  (Sorry, man.)

If you are a Christian and you talk about money with other Christians, you cannot escape hearing Dave Ramsey’s name mentioned in some context, multiple times.

There’s this blog I like to read, Stuff Christians Like, written by this guy I don’t know, Jon Acuff, and he just moved to another state so he could become employed as a speaker/writer for Dave Ramsey.

That’s all I know.

Until now.

Sort of.

I still don’t actually know much more about the man.

But I picked up his Money Answer Book and toted it with me on our beach trip recently.

(And by “picked up” I mean that I went to booksneeze.com and signed up to get free books and this Dave Ramsey book was the first one the company sent to me.)

It’s not exactly a book so much as a question-then-answer collection.

Which actually works just fine for an introduction to all concepts Dave Ramsey-ish.

I opened the little book as a Dave Ramsey-skeptic.

No real justification for that – just mostly did not want to like him because everyone else seemed to.

That’s all.

However.

As the questions began to sound like questions I have asked or would have liked to have asked, I started to pay more attention.

This little series of answers and responses was exactly what our family needed.

(And I liked the quotes scattered on the pages . . .  because I am words-girl, you know.)

But really, I liked this format because (at this stage in the game) I really don’t need to hear about the why I should budget/save money/be debt free/tithe regularly/train our children to be good stewards/invest/plan wisely/live frugally.

I already know all about the why.

(Because it’s wise.  Because it’s secure.  Oh – and because the way I spend money says something about how I view me and God and His role for me.)

Yeah.  I’ve got the why mostly covered.

It’s always been the how that seems to elude me.

And this how wasn’t wrapped in fancy language or insulting ideas, it was simply stated/take it or leave it/here’s some facts kind of wording.

And that always resonates.

For us – this little free book is actually wrecking some positive havoc around our home.

The kids are beginning to start the process of earning commission, not allowance.

Kevin and I have been newly motivated to continue our snowballing our debt method of repaying old credit card bills.

We actually sat down together and wrote out a legitimate budget.

Oh – and the real clincher.  We are three weeks into the envelope system.

(Sighs and wonder, please.)

So.

Yeah.

It’s a quick guide, a good go-to help for financial focus.

Dave Ramsey – you’re alright.

(But I would appreciate it if you would take down your face from that one billboard by the gas station – okay?  It still creeps me out a little.)